Of Feathers and Akuma
by An Actual Lion
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir are pretty well versed in Akuma battles, they got them in the bag! But how are they going to handle four weirdos and a talking bunny that fall out of the sky?
1. Prologue

Fu was no stranger to the ancient magic of dreamwalking. He was no stranger to magic as a whole. So when he found himself in dreams that night, it wasn't long before he took notice of the unmistakable presence at his side.

"Miss Yuuko, it's been a while since we last spoke." He greeted the unearthly woman with a familiar smile. "What has it been my friend, Eighty…. Ninety years?"

The witch approached him, dressed in robes that flowed despite the lack of any wind in the dreamscape. "Far too long." Her soft smile faded as she continued. "Your two children Fu, tell me, how confident are you in them?"

The elderly man's smile only grew at the mention of the two. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have a partnership that I'd say could grow to rival you and Clow's, rest his soul."

"Then I hope they are up to the task headed their way." Yuuko continued, finding no apparent relief in Fu's words.

"Oh? And what might that be, Witch of Dimensions?"

"Specifics are not something I can give out just like that, you know that Fu. But…" Yuuko trailed off, a mischievous grin curling the sides of her mouth. "I can say that I have some confidence in my own children as well."

Fu stiffened. "Your children?" Fear gripped the small man's form. He recalled ominous warnings he'd received, images of the symbol of a bat flashing before his tired eyes. "Fei Wong Reed… So his plan is in motion then…"

Though Yuuko's smile remained, her eyes betrayed the deep sadness behind them.

"Yes, but it is only in the early stages. Your children are not a part of his scheme." She reassured her old companion. "They will not be caught in his wake, I can promise you that." She rested a palm on his frail and bony shoulder.

Fu nodded, letting his eyelids flutter closed in a sigh of relief. Though he knew not what damage would be caused by Fei Wong Reed's wish, he knew it would be impossibly immense. He was just relieved that his two chosen would not have to suffer what he knew the traveller's would have to because of it.

Looking back up at Yuuko, Fu responded with confidence still lacing each word. "Marinette and Adrien are prepared to face whatever is coming."

"Good." Yuuko stepped back from Fu, her gown beginning to fade into a graceful spiral of fluttering butterflies as she began to faze out of Fu's dream. "I look forward to our next meeting…" And she was gone, leaving Fu to mull over her words and her warning.

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Fu muttered to himself, "Oh Clow… What have you done? You old fool."


	2. Pursuit

It wasn't long before Syaoran began to truly miss the soft sands of the desert. After all, sand didn't leave such nasty bruises if you fell on it. Unlike this hard and unforgiving stone ground of whatever new world they had found themselves arriving in.

Gritting his teeth as he felt the back of his head crack against concrete, Syaoran wrapped his arms tighter around Sakura as he cushioned her from suffering a similar fate. Forcing his eyes open, he spotted Kurogane and Fai in an unfortunate tangled head on the ground, looking about as grateful for their landing spot as he was.

"Syaoran-kun, your head!" Sakura's bell chime of a voice was like a painkiller on its own. "Oh, that looks like it really hurt…" Her mouth turned downwards as she tried to inspect the already sizeable lump forming at the back of his skull.

Forcing a comforting smile despite the throbbing that he knew would plague him for days to come, Syaoran reassured, "I'm alright Princess. Don't worry!"

"Well I'm not!" Fai proclaimed, the back of his hand pressed against his forehead in a dramatic pose. "Kuro-heartless didn't ask ME if I was ok!"

Mokona perched herself on Fai's shoulder, mimicking him as she said in her sing song voice, "Kuro-heartless is so uncaring! Poor poor Fai!"

The unfortunate ninja picked himself up off the hard ground, dusting off his cloak as he was berated relentlessly by the blond and the creature. "You're fine Mage, I've seen you walk away from way worse than this." He grumbled, all too used to this obnoxious routine he suffered each entry into a new world.

Throwing his arms around Kurogane's shoulders, Fai whined, "But isn't it the thought that counts, Kuro-chi?" Mokona repeating him like a mockingbird as the two teased the exasperated man relentlessly.

Helping each other off the ground while their two companions all but tortured the third, Syaoran and Sakura took in their surroundings. "Wow, this place is beautiful!" Sakura exclaimed, focusing on a very large and impressive tower in the distance.

"We're clearly somewhere very advanced." Syaoran observed, taking in the signs of similar technology to the Hanshin Republic. "It seems like a city from where we're standing, but I don't see nearly as many people as there should be." The streets were completely empty around them, odd since cities like this they had visited before were always uncomfortably crowded.

"Maybe it's been abandoned." Kurogane suggested, peering around him with an unimpressed expression. "Wouldn't be the first time we landed somewhere uninhabited." The man had a point, one of the past world they had travelled to was nothing more than an empty field for miles, occasional wreckage of what Syaoran had assumed were once houses of sorts buried half in the dirt.

Furrowing his brow, Syaoran mulled over the suggestion. Turning back to his companions, he asked, "Mokona, do you sense a fe-"

He was cut off by the sound of a caterwauling voice screaming what he could only assume was some sort of battle cry.

"CATACLYSM!" Followed by the harsh sounds of metal bending and collapsing on itself, and with it the theory that wherever they had landed was uninhabited.

Quickly, the group's eyes all shot towards the source of the sound, hidden behind one of the tall buildings of the city. Almost immediately, as expected, Syaoran took off towards the unknown scream, hoping to find another of Sakura's memory feathers waiting for him on whatever battlefield they had apparently found themselves in.

With the rest of the wanderers hot in his heels, but still not yet in sight of whatever had created the noise, the family skidded to a halt as they heard a different voice call out just as enthusiastically as the last, "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" And watched as the sky above them filled with what looked like swarms of black and red specks that flew out to the edges of the city, soon followed by the cheers of an unseen crowd.

Watching the tiny particle like creatures sweep over the sky and then dissipate into nothingness, the family turns their heads to Fai as they await some sort of observation. But the man appeared to be just as confused and flabbergasted as the rest of them were. "I… I'm not familiar with any kind of magic that does that." He confessed, running his fingers through his wispy locks. "But, I have to assume that it IS indeed magic."

From above, where the strange magic had appeared and where they had heard the voices calling, two figures lept into view, sprinting in opposite directions across the rooftops. Syaoran narrowed his eyes as he focused on one of them, the one adorning a red suit with the same pattern as the specks of magic that had washed over the area only a few minutes before. "That one! Whatever that just was, judging from what they're wearing, they have to be the source of it!" And with that, Syaoran was off again, hot on the trail, with Sakura and Mokona not far behind him.

Fai started after the two children initially, but hung back when he watched as Kurogane's eyes locked on the other figure, clad in all black and adorning what looked like a tail. The ninja's eyes narrowed and his hand clutched at his, currently sheathed, sword. "Something wrong Kuro-quiet?" Though the nickname was present as usual, Fai knew when the ninja sensed something amiss.

"That other thing, it looks like the Oni from that one place… the one that wasn't really real…" The dark man growled, starting after the figure with long strides.

"Outo you mean?" Fai said, following after him with a trot in his stride. "You think maybe whatever it is it could be responsible for those unmistakable sounds of complete and utter destruction?" Sarcasm leaked heavily off of each word.

Kurogane rolled his eyes as he picked up the pace. "It came from that same direction didn't it?" His voice was a quick snap. "I know a demon when I see one, and I'll be damned if I let one get away!" Fai could hear the gritting of the man's teeth as he took off at full speed after his target and sighed.

"Whatever you say, Kuro-focused…"

…..

It was difficult to track something when it was a blur flinging itself across rooftops while you were stuck on the ground, but Syaoran would be damned if he was going to let whoever this was get away if it could lead him to another feather. Keeping pace with his spotted target, Syaoran watched as it dove from one of the buildings and into a dimly lit alley.

Skidding to a halt, Syaoran stopped at the edge of the alley, squinting as he peered into the dim shadows. He jumped when he felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder, but was relieved to whip around to find it was Sakura, Mokona clinging onto her. He gave the both of them a soft smile before a bright light flashed from the darkness of the alley. The trio all gave each other a silent look of anticipation before Syaoran began to step carefully into the alleyway, his hand ready on Hien at his side, and Sakura, characteristically brave as ever, followed just behind him.

"You know Tikki, I'd never expect someone named 'The DeCaffeinator to be so dangerous!" A voice, a very human voice, commented. The travelers could make out the fuzzy silhouette of what could resemble a girl as she spoke to something she held in the palm of her hand.

"I guess that's what happens when you put decaf in someone's morning cup of coffee, huh!" An even higher pitched voice than Mokona's giggled.

The sound of light footsteps drawing closer sent the trio's hair standing on end as they prepared themselves for whatever vicious being was responsible-

A very human, very shocked face appeared before their very eyes. No monster, no demon. A girl, with dark hair and big eyes that only widened as she registered the three strangers standing ominously at the edge of a dark alley. And in the palm of her hand, a small red and black spotted creature that looked them up and down, and in its tiny voice uttered only this.

"Oh crap…"

...

"You know Mage…" Kurogane grumbled as kept his eyes trained on the oblivious target. "You could have, and should have, kept watching over the kid, the pork bun and the Princess. Hell knows what stupid shit they're getting themselves into chasing after something blindly like that!"

Fai snorted as he kept up behind Kurogane. "Aw, but aren't you enjoying my company, Kuro-hypocrite?" His jab only got him a harsh glare, not that anything else was expected. "It looks like our little demon friend is headed for right over there!" He pointed towards what looked like a large expanse of grass, odd to see in the middle of a stone based city. The figure lept off the last roof with ease, rolling onto the grass as if the fall hadn't affected it at all.

Drawing Souhi from its sheath, Kurogane turned to Fai for a moment, signaling that they needed to be quiet. Fai nodded, and followed silently as he and Kurogane caught up to the Oni looking figure. Keeping behind it, the closer they got, the more they saw of it. Whatever it was, it wasn't clad in fur like they had thought, though it still sported a tail and, now more apparent, felid ears on the top of its head. It also appeared to be, though appearances were deceiving, as both men knew all too well, a boy. A child not much older looking than their companions.

Taking no notice of the two men following it, the cat-boy looking figure ducked behind one of the trees planted in the park, still in plain view of Kurogane and Fai. Quickly, a flash of green light enveloped the being, and the two men tensed. An opening!

Quickly they rushed at the tree from where the figure had disappeared behind, poised for a fight, as they came face to face with a very blond, very human face as it rounded the tree once more, looking very normal and very terrified to see a sword aimed for his throat.

Both parties froze in complete and utter shock. Kurogane and Fai's eyes widened, as a teenager was not what they expected to appear from behind the tree. From behind the young boy's shoulder appeared a small, obsidian colored creature, with unimpressed green eyes as it looked the men up and down.

"See Adrien, I told you that tree was a terrible place to detransform!"


	3. Inconspicuous

One of the very first rules Tikki had given her was, 'Make sure that absolutely no one knows you're Ladybug!' already broken. Completely down the drain. Now she was standing face to face with two strangely dressed kids she didn't recognize and…. Their pet rabbit? Not to mention they had very obviously just seen Tikki. Her secret identity was toast, and burnt toast at that. It surely wouldn't be long before the entirety of France, and Hawkmoth, knew her identity, her friends, her family, her address! She might as well hand Hawkmoth her Miraculous herself with a coupon to her family's bakery a long with it!

In a panicked voice, Marinette managed to stutter out, "Wh-what are you doing here? What did you see?" The stranger's eyes were wide, darting between her and Tikki. The more Marinette looked at the odd trio however, the more she noticed how out of place they seemed.

The boy, eyes frantic as he took half a step forward, "Were you the one who released that magic into the air earlier?" Marinette was a bit taken aback. She had been expecting a 'You're Ladybug', not a question over whether or not she had, as he put it, 'released magic into the air'.

"I uh…" She struggled on a proper response. All the times she had pictured herself being cornered in an alley after being caught changing back into her civilian identity not once had she pictured herself being asked about her 'magic' instead of the fact that she ran around Paris in supernatural spandex. Still, she figured there was no point in lying, as they had no doubt figured out who she was. Not to mention that the girl and the odd looking bunny had their gazes locked onto Tikki. "Y-Yeah that was me."

She could hear the breath catch in the strangers throat, his hand lifted from the hilt of his sword and he straightened his back. "Then you might be able to help us!" His tone was serious, and yet full of relief.

The Ladybug in her responded with urgency. People in Paris in need of help, that was her job. "Of course I can help you. But I need you to promise me something first." Marinette held Tikki up to the strangers, her brow furrowing as she assumed what Tikki often called her 'superhero voice'. "You need to forget you saw Tikki, and you need to forget that I'm Ladybug!"

"Ladybug?" The boy shook his head. "I don't know who that is, I'm not here about that!" Marinette's head spun. Not here about Ladybug? She didn't mean to sound so conceited, but usually people were always here about Ladybug. His voice betrayed desperation as he stepped forward again, "I need your help finding Princess Sakura's Feather!"

…

Adrien had dealt with many things in his time doubling as the Leather clad superhero of Paris. He had fought an angry toddler, a giant goo monster, even a shapeshifting zoo keeper that couldn't handle the taunting of one of his classmates without getting himself akumatized. But this, being held at sword point fresh out of detransformation in the park by two strangers was definitely a first. He'd have to remind himself later to cross that off the list of weird things that happened to him since the ring came into his possession.

"What are you?" The taller of the two, the one holding the very long and very sharp looking sword to his throat demanded. "Are you some sort of demon? A sorcerer?" His red eyes focused on Plagg as the Kwami sat lazily atop Adrien's head, as nonchalant as ever. "Is that your familiar? Is that a demon?"

Quite frankly, if he wasn't in fear for his life, Adrien would feel tempted to make a joke about pop quizzes. But something told him that neither of these men would find it very funny. "What, no! I… I'm… uh…" If he didn't want to end up a kitty kabob, Adrien had to choose his words very carefully. "I'm not a demon, or a sorcerer, and Plagg is not my familiar, whatever that is!"

"If you don't mind us asking then, what are you? I can't imagine that it's normal for someone to run around on rooftops in, was it a cat costume you were wearing?" The blond man asked, his voice smooth and less urgent than his companion. "If it was, I think we'd see quite a lot more of you running about."

The question shook Adrien to his core. Did… did they not know who Chat Noir and Ladybug were? They certainly looked like they weren't from around Paris, or France for that matter, but Adrien was under the impression that Paris' Superhero Duo were kind of world famous. He almost felt offended.

"I'm a superhero… Y'know… Chat Noir?" He dropped his hands to his sides. "Ladybug's partner? We kind of save Paris on the daily? Do you guys not watch the news?"

Atop his head, Plagg yawned. "Adrien can you hurry this up please, I'm starving!" The Kwami flopped over onto his back, leaning his head backwards to get a look at the aggressors. "They're obviously not from this world Adrien, and they probably won't be here long after this, can we please just go home, I know you have Camembert there. I need my gooey-ness!"

"I'm sorry what? Not from this world?" Adrien practically yelped as he snatched the Kwami off the top of his head. "You can't just… Say that stuff Plagg, it's rude and… and crazy!" As if today and his overall life wasn't crazy enough, Adrien had his Kwami throwing around wild and probably untrue accusa-

"No, you're little friend there is right." The blond man spoke again, catching Adrien off guard for the tenth time in a row. "We aren't from this world."

….

"Okay so let me get this straight." Marinette rubbed her temples as she tried to process her current pickle of a situation. "You three," She gestured to the strangers, "Are all from a different dimension?" The boy, the girl, and the space rabbit all nodded in unison. "You," She pointed to the girl, "Have lost your memories in the form of, what did you say they were, feathers? That are super powerful and were spread across the multiverse?" Another nod. "And now, you think one of them might be in my world."

"Well, it's hard to tell exactly." The boy scratched the back of his head. "Mokona says that she can sense a great amount of magic in this world, which means that there very much could be a feather, but it's hard to tell with so much of it coming from different places. Including you, and uh…" He looked down at the speckled Kwami. "I'm so sorry, what was your name again?"

With a smile on her face, Tikki flew over to rest in the palm of the boy's hand. "My name is Tikki, and this," she gestured over to her chosen with a paw. "Is Marinette!"

Marinette flinched as her Kwami gave her name to complete strangers. Strangers who had just figured out she was Ladybug. "Tikki…." She hissed through her teeth, shocked that her Kwami, who had insisted on the importance of her secret identity, had just given her name out to people who hadn't even shared their own!

"It's ok Marinette." Tikki reassured her, turning back to the travelers. "You seem like a nice boy, I don't think you want much else other than that feather and some help finding it." She patted his thumb in an understanding, almost motherly fashion.

He shook his head. "Right. I just want to make sure Princess Sakura gets her memories back." He glanced over at his companion with a soft smile.

"If you've been travelling multiple worlds," Tikki began, "That must mean you went to go see The Witch of Dimensions, right?"

The two teenager's eyes widened at her statement. "You know Yuuko?" The rabbit like creature hopped off the girl's shoulder to join Tikki and the boy in his other palm.

The kwami nodded. "Yes, the other Kwamis and I have known her for a very, very long time. She was around when we were first made!"

The white creature inhaled deeply as she placed her stubby paws on Tikki's. "You're a Kwami?! I remember Yuuko talking about you guys, you sound so cool, giving people superpowers and stuff, just like in all those cool comic books!" She mimed a few punching motions.

"And you must be…" Tikki chuckled with a smile.

"Mokona Madoki!" The creature stuck her ears out towards the sky and threw up her paws in an almost sickeningly cute gesture. "At your service! And these two," Mokona hopped atop the head of the boy, "Is Syaoran, and Sakura!" She gestured over to the girl, who had remained fairly quiet until now.

"We have two other people we're travelling with too, but…" Sakura began, her brow creased with worry.

"But, we think we might have lost them when we went chasing after you." Syaoran finished her statement, running his fingers through his hair. "Though this wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened."

Crossing her arms and tapping her foot in thought, Marinette dwelled over the three and their kerfuffle. It was Ladybug's job, her job, to help the people of Paris, but this all seemed just a tad out of her jurisdiction. "If they look anything like you two, they'll stick out like a sore thumb for sure." She sighed, running the palms of her hands down her face as she took a deep breath. "Okay…" She began. "I will help you find her feather, just as long as you-"

"Don't tell anyone you're Ladybug!" The trio repeated back to her in almost perfect unison.

Marinette blinked at the response and smiled. "Right! But you guys can't stay here dressed like that." She gestured to their clothes. "People will be able to spot you from a mile away! Come with me, we can go the back roads until I can help you blend in a little better."

…..

"So you two, just, fell from the sky." Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to make sense of the story the two strangers had just fed to him after he'd been able to convince them that he wasn't some demon set upon this world in malevolence.

"Yes."

"Just, out from the big ol' blue, huh?"

"That is what we have repeated many times, yes."

"Wow." And Adrien thought that discovering he was chosen to be a superhero was a stretch. "And you have three other people that are supposed to be with you, you said?"

The taller man, who had been introduced originally as 'Kuro-sama' but quickly corrected his partner and told Adrien his name was Kurogane, nodded. "A kid, a princess and a pork bun. The Kid saw your friend in the other suit and went running after them before we could do anything to stop him."

"Not that you really can stop him once he puts his mind to something." The other man, the blond who called himself Fai, mused, walking leisurely alongside Kurogane as they followed Adrien back to his home, where he had told them they could stay while they sorted this mess out.

"Okay, well until we figure out what happened to your friends and the memory fuzz-"

"It's a feather."

"Memory feather, you two need disguises and cover stories. My father is busy nearly twenty four seven and it's not hard to hide Plagg from everyone in my house, it shouldn't be too hard to hide you two. At least for now." Adrien turned around to face them. "And while you're here, don't go telling everyone you meet that I'm the guy in the cat suit, it's kind of a secret and I need to keep it that way if you don't mind."

Fai nodded and waved his hand. "Oh don't worry, we're very inconspicuous." He said just as Kurogane removed his sword from his sheath again to polish it with a piece of his cloak.

Glancing between the deadly weapon and their over the top uniforms, Adrien rolled his eyes before looking back ahead of him. "Oh yeah, you blend in real well."


	4. Weird Plans and Weirder Nicknames

"So none of this magic is really your own?" Sakura inquired, walking side by side with Marinette as Syaoran trotted along behind them, his shoulders serving as a perch for Mokona and Tikki as they caught up. Marinette shook her head.

"No actually, in fact," she explained. "I thought magic was complete mush up until that little black box showed up in my room! And whadda ya know, not only does it turn out superheroes are real, I'm one of 'em." She ended her statement with a warm smile. "And it's all thanks to these bad boys!" Marinette pointed to the two studs in her earlobes.

Wide eyed, Sakura leaned in for a closer look, admiring the earrings. "Oh wow! Those give you your magic?"

Marinette shrugged as she pursed her lips in thought. "Not, exactly…" She began. "See, these earrings are actually called-"

…..

"-a Miraculous. This little shit here," Adrien gestured to the snoozing Kwami atop his head. "Flies into it and allows me to transform. Without this ring, I'm pretty much useless."

Fai eyed the ring suspiciously, more than intrigued about just how this contraption worked. "So how does it work? Is it a seal, is it a spell? I know this is a different world, but I'm just completely stumped on how this was made exactly." He reached for the boy's hand, only to have the teenager yank it out of reach, clutching his Miraculous possessively.

"Sorry, there's a strict no touching policy when it comes to the ring." Adrien turned around to eye Kurogane, who had remained fairly silent as they walked. "And when it comes to myself in general for that matter…"

The wizard nodded, holding his hands up as he backed a few paces away from Adrien. "Fair enough, let's give our nice host his space, eh Kuro-rin?" Kurogane only grunted in response. Turning back to the teenager, Fai chimed, "Cat-kun, do you mind giving me and my companion some privacy for a bit, we have some business to take care of."

Adrien pulled a face, but waved them away none the less. Fai pulled Kurogane aside, turning their backs away from the teenager as he began whispering. "So how trustworthy do you think he is?" He asked, tone still light but adamantly serious in words. "We could be walking right into a trap you know, for all we know his red and black friend from earlier has our three kiddos locked in a cage somewhere."

Kurogane glanced back at the blond kid over his shoulder, watching as he bickered with the small black creature he called his 'Kwami'. He narrowed his eyes before he turned back and shrugged his shoulders. "Somehow I get the feeling he's about as sinister as the kid." The ninja grumbled. "We should start looking for those three sooner rather than later. We went without seeing them for nine months once already, I'd rather not go through that again."

"Awwww, is someone's fatherly instincts kicking in?" Fai placed his palm over his heart, wiping a nonexistent tear from the corner of his eye.

Before Kurogane could respond, Adrien called back to them with urgency in his tone. "Not to rush you guys, but we really need to get back to my house before someone spots you and thinks you guys have been Akumatized!" Both men turned around at the word, their heads tilted at an angle in confusion. Adrien smacked the heel of his hand on his forehead. "Right, you guys wouldn't know what that mean… Okay, an Akumatized person-"

….

"-is someone who has been targeted and transformed into a sort of Supervillain. That's what me and Chat Noir were fighting before you three found me." Marinette explained as they rounded the corner, her home in sight now.

Sakura was forlorn as she listened. "That's terrible…" She mumbled. "Those poor people."

Syaoran however, was more intrigued. People being changed into villains, it sounded like the work of a feather to him. "Do you know what's causing this?" He asked, his tone serious as ever. "There wouldn't happen to be a feather involved in the process, would there?"

Blinking a few times, Marinette turned her head to look at him. Shaking her head she replied, "No, Feathers have nothing to do with it. People are akumatized by these little corrupted butterfly things called… well… Akuma." She stated. "Hawkmoth, the cause of all this mess, sends them out whenever someone is feeling negative emotions. The Akuma then kind of… attaches itself to an object the person has and hides in there, giving the person their powers and kind of messing with their head."

The boy was unconvinced. "That sounds like something one of Princess Sakura's Feathers could cause, if in the wrong hands." Syaoran's jaw was clenched as he said this, making Sakura eye him worriedly.

Looking down at her hands, Sakura couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as Syaoran and Marinette began to debate over whether or not the Akuma attacks had been caused by a misuse of her Feather. A part of her whispered that if her feathers had not been scattered, perhaps this city wouldn't constantly be in danger. Maybe this city, and many other cities, or worlds for that matter, would be a lot safer if it hadn't been for-

"Miss Sakura?" Although the voice was high pitched and childlike, the warm, almost motherly tone in it settled her racing mind. The Princess glanced down at her forearm, where Tikki had landed, staring up at her with kind blue eyes. "Everything will be just fine, okay? We'll get that feather back for you in no time."

"Thank you, Tikki-san…" Sakura breathed, flicking her eyes back over to the other two teenagers as they were locked in what looked like a debate.

Syaoran was persistent. "I'm sure that there is a possibility that it isn't a feather, however…" His tone was polite but it grew strained by the passing second. Sakura couldn't help but smile just bit. It wasn't often they met someone who matched Syaoran's stubbornness. "There's still a possibility that it is one. If it is, I will get it back, and that should solve all these Akumatizations, right?"

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated, thinking on his suggestion. "Yes, that would be right, I guess. But I'm fairly certain that if there was one involved, I'd know about it." She crossed her arms, her expression one more of frustration than thought now. Sakura moved to speak, maybe to calm the two down a bit, but Tikki was faster.

Hovering over in between Syaoran and Marinette, the Kwami began defusing the debate before it turned sour. "Marinette, don't you think we should get everyone blended in before we talk about this?" She suggested gently.

"Right!" Marinette pointed to the Bakery across the street from where they were standing. "My house in in that building over there, come on. Sakura, you're about my size, you could probably just borrow some of my own clothes. And Syaoran, I could probably throw something or another together that will work."

"What about Mokona?" The creature raised its paw in the air, face scrunched up in an attempt at a scowl, obviously feeling a little left out. "How will Mokona blend in?" She demanded.

Marinette shrugged sadly, leaning over to give the creature a little pat on the head. "I'm afraid we don't normally have anything like you running around Paris, you'll have to hide in someone's bag unfortunately…"

Mokona dipped her head, crestfallen, but soon picked herself up. Puffing out her chest, Mokona assumed a confident tone once more, "Mokona will be the best at hiding!" She declared, earning a warm chuckle from Marinette as she opened the shop door.

"Marinette! You're home!" A warm, worried voice belonging to an absolute bear of a man exclaimed. Quickly, Syaoran allowed both Mokona and Tikki refuge in the confines of his tattered cloak, panicking as he watched the stranger approach them rather rapidly. The man pulled Marinette into a gentle, but firm hug as he sighed in relief. "Oh I'm so glad you're safe, your mother and I didn't hear from you after the attack. We thought something had happened to you."

The man's gaze shifted to Syaoran and Sakura, the two stiffening as he turned his attention to them. There was always a chance they wouldn't be welcomed or received well in a world, and though Marinette had been friendly…

"Who are your friends?" The man's greeting was gentle as he smiled at them.

"Oh, uh…" Marinette stammered as she stepped back to stand in between the two of them. "Papa, these are some kids from school, Syaoran and Sakura. I met them during the attack."

Her father seemed to buy it, looking them over with an amused gaze. "Oh, well it's good that you kids weren't hurt as well. Those attacks can get pretty gnarly, good thing Ladybug and Chat Noir always show up to take care of it." He looked over their outfits, snorting a little as he asked, "Were you kids going to a costume party or something?"

"N-No, uh…" Marinette stopped him, holding out her hands in a defensive stance as the three began to panic. "They're uh… part of an independent theater group, they were rehearsing when the attack happened, haha…" She looked back at Syaoran and Sakura, her eyes pleading for them to help her sell her claim.

Syaoran stepped forward first, his tone more steady than hers. "Yes, she helped us out when we got separated from the other actors."

It didn't take much to convince her father it seemed, as he only continued to be nothing but warm to the two. "Well, that's my daughter for you, always the helpful one." He reached down to ruffle the hair on her head.

"Papa…" Marinette grumbled, brushing his hand off the crown of her head as she attempted to fix her hair. Sakura couldn't help but smile as she watched, the sharp sting in her chest reminding her of how much she missed her own family, back in her home world of Clow. She hardly remembered them now, but she knew she loved them. "We'll be upstairs for a bit okay?" Marinette took hold of both the traveler's hands, leading them to a short set of stairs. Her father smiled before returning to his work, leaving the three children and the two beings, now very happy to be out from under Syaoran's clothes, in the clear for now.

…..

"So if I understand this correctly blondy…" Kurogane began, looking up at the impossibly tall wall and the, or what was supposedly, slightly open window that Adrien had told them lead to his room. "You want us to somehow scale that wall, with nothing but our wits."

Adrien shrugged. "Well, not exactly…" He motioned to the tall tree just outside his room. "I want you to climb that tree, then wait for me to hold a ladder out to you from my window." He stated, hands on his hips as he looked rather pleased with himself for coming up with such an obviously flawless plan.

Kurogane and Fai, however, were not as convinced as he was, and their faces clearly showed it. "Oh come on, it'll be fine." Plagg drawled, still lounging on top of Adrien's hair as he looked at the strangers through half lidded eyes. "He sneaks his weird friend Nono-"

"His name is Nino, Plagg, we've talked about this."

"-Whatever. He sneaks him in all the time this way!" The tiny felid yawned, curling himself up again for the third nap since Kurogane and Fai had met him.

Silence thickened the air between the two men and the strange, and growing ever stranger, boy, who still looked confident in his scheme to get Kurogane and Fai up to his room without being noticed. As if someone wasn't going to notice two grown men scaling a tree to attempt to get into a teenage boy's room in broad daylight. But….

They had executed weirder plans than this before.

"Alright, Kuro-monkey and I will start climbing!" Fai declared, sauntering over to the the tree as he started looking for a goof foothold to give him a boost. "We'll be in your quarters in no time, Adricat!"

The boy shuddered at the sudden nickname, looking at Kurogane with a look of discomfort the ninja was all too familiar with. Mustering any ounce of pity he had in his gut for the child, Kurogane grumbled "They only get worse, blondy. I'd get used to it."


End file.
